Strap for wrist watches



March 10, 1931. c. DUERR STRAP FOR WRIST WATCHES Original Filed Oct. 27. 1928 INVENTOR C. QUE/F1? ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 10, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFlCE CHARLES DUERR, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, LASSIGNOR TO SIMON BRUNER, OF FAR ROCKAWAY, NEW YORK STBA]? FOR WRIST WATCHES Original application filed October 27, 1928, Serial No. 315,366. Divided and this application filed January This invention relates to flexible bands as, for example, straps for wrist watches, bracelets, ornamental neck bands or other articles of jewelry and is a division of appl1cation Serial No. 315,366, filed October 27, 1928 for wrist watch straps.

Wrist watches have attained considerable popularity and many types of bands or straps have been devised, beginning with the leather strap and developing into numerous straps constructed of metal.

The metal strap has gained favor, being free from the disadvantage of stretching and becoming damp from absorbed perspiration.

In the making of a wrist watch strap it is necessary to have flexibility so that the strap will take the shape of the wrist to the comfort of the wearer. It is also important to provide a strap of a smooth symmetrical appearance so as to make a pleasing addition to the watch which it secures in place.

It has heretofore been proposed to provide a strap composed of a metallic mesh and the present invention has for its object to provide a wrist watch strap of this same general character insofar as flexibility is concerned but of smooth appearance and simulating a plain metal band and at the same time possessing the desired adjustability when used to hold a watch on the wrist.

A wrist watch strap constructed in accordance with my invention is made up of a plurality of tubular metallic sections secured by pairs of locking elements enclosed by the sections which cooperate therewith to hold the members in locked relation.

The invention will be more fully understood b reference to the accom Jan in b drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a strap made in accordance with the present invention attached to a wrist watch;

Fig. 2 shows a portion of a strap with a partly broken away section to show the locking elements;

Fig. 3 shows a tubular section with the locking members about to be inserted and Fig. 4 is an edge view of a strap having a connector or fastener.

An embodiment of the invention may com- Serial No. 507,132.

prise a strap 10 composed of a plurality of tubular sections 11 which in the present construction are of sheet metal and of rectangular transverse cross section. The sections 11 are disposed in close adjacent relation to constitute a strap or band and are held in such relation by pairs of locking members 12 and 13. These locking members 12 and 13 which may be termed a latch and latch-piece re spectively, serve to hold the sections 11 in flexible relation. The latch 12 is provided with a hook portion 14 and the latch-piece 13 is provided with a hook portion 15.

These hooks are arranged to extend over the edges of and to embrace adjacent walls 16 and 17 of adjacent tubular sections and the locking members are so proportioned and arranged that when moved into place within a tubular section a lip 18 on the latch 12 will engage with a lip 19 on the latchpiece 13.

For the purpose of holding the locking members in locked relation their combined Width is so proportioned that surface 20 of the latch-piece 13 will engage wall 16 of a tubular section while the latch 12 is held against the wall 17. By reason of the construction and material of the members they are sufiiciently elastic to permit a slight spring so that the lips 18 and 19 may be snapped into engagement and by reason of the opposing Walls of the tubular section, such relation is maintained. Each of the locking members may occupy only a portion of the space within its tubular section, the remaining space being provided for the entrance of the hook portions 14 and 15, thus it Will be evident that if the tubular sections are made just sufliciently wide to admit the locking members the opening at the ends thereof will be entirely filled and a smooth symmetrical appearance will result.

lVhen a plurality of tubular sections 11 have been secured by a plurality of pairs of locking members, a slight relative movement of each of the sections may be had with the result that the strap so constructed is of a flexible nature and when used as a band for a wrist watch will take the contour of the wrist and serve as well as a leather strap 2 5 i r v 7 1,796,090

Without the disadvantages above mentioned.

As shown in the drawing, a strap composedof a plurality of tubular sections may bereadily attached to a watch 21 since end sections 11 and 11 may have tubular extensions 22 and 22" to provide apertures to receive pins 23 and 24 as commonly provided 7 for securing a metallic strap to a watch. The

free ends 25 and" 26 may also'be provided with sections having similar tubular extensions 27 and 28. The extensions 27 may be attached to a latch plate 29 adapted to engage with a notched member 30. The latch plate is provided with flanges 81 and 32 having serrations on their inner surface to grip the notched member 30. This lock or connector is moreclearly shown in applicants co-pending application Serial No. 262,737

filed March 19, 1928. i

From the above it will be evident that the present invention provides a simple and effective construction for a chain or strap wherein the various-parts may be quickly and easily assembled and at relativelylow cost. 1 V

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown and described herein, it

I is tobe' understood that modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in theappended claims. 1

What is claimed is 1. A chain comprising pairs ofopposed forked members having wedge shaped prongs, one of the prongs on one member of each pair having an inturned hook at its end and the prong on the'opposite member having an out-turned hook, said hooksbeing engageable one with the other, and a flattened tube enterable the spaces between said'prongs' to couple the hook carrying prongs of one jacent pair. 7 V V 2. A device of the class described comprising a pair of connector members of substantially U-shape, an inturned hook on one of the legs of one member, an out-turned hook on oneof the legs of the other memher, the remaining legs of said members being plain, tubular sections disposed in adjacent relation, said members straddling opposite ends of adjacent walls of said sections with the plain legs in one sectionand the legs having-the inturned and-out-turned hooks disposed in the adjacent section with the hooks engaged to hold said members against endwise movement to retain said tubular sections in flexible relation.

.3. A chain comprising pairs of opposed forked members, each member having a plain prong and a hooked prong, the hooked prong on one member of each pair having the hook inturned and at theend of theprong, the hooked prong on the opposite member of each pair'having the hook out-turned and at pair with the plain prongs of the n'ezrt ad-v ids 

